Eva Sanjurjo
Home Child Care Provider
January 7, 2020
Wanting to fill the hall with color, Eva Sanjurjo hangs wreaths and leaves the children made. She believes the children need a colorful and joyful environment to learn and for over forty years has provided this environment in her very own childhood home. Wanting to care for her own three girls and seeing a need to help other mothers in the community, she opened the doors to Eva’s Kids. In her dangerous and impoverished neighborhood, she will charge as low as ten dollars a week just to keep the children safe and fed at her home.
“I started this child care because of the children. What I did for my own children, I wanted to do for
others in my community. If I can continue to nourish the children and help them grow and be strong, I will keep going.”
Eva starts the day at 7:00 am with a healthy breakfast and then personally walks the school-age children to their school, making sure they arrive safely and on time. At 2:00 pm, the students make their way back to Eva’s Kids where they eat a complete and nutritious lunch because Eva knows that if children are hungry or worrying about food, it affects their moods and learning. In most cases, Eva is the sole provider of meals for the children and she credits the CACFP for making that possible.
Growing up with supportive parents, Eva had her own sense of self-worth and high expectations which she passes on to the children. She enjoys teaching through conversation and expects manners and good grammar with "no street talk" allowed. She advocates for mutual respect between herself, the children, the community, and anyone that works with the children. The relationships she builds with the children continue into adult life as they come back to help, visit with Eva in the community, and even bring their own children for Eva to care for.
Eva serves as a community role model. She is a community activist, founding the Hunt’s Point Awareness Committee, bringing trees and better air quality to the community. She has also served on community committees and was a longtime volunteer at the elementary school. Eva has a contagious energy and even after forty years is not anywhere near stopping yet. When talking about retirement, Eva laughs as she says, “I can still hula hoop and ride a bike. I don’t need to stop!”
From Hunt's Point, N.Y., Eva has been a CACFP participant through Child Care Network of New York since 2013.